Some states have laws (statutes) that require a person to accurately provide their identification (ID) (name, residence address, date of birth) to the police if the police have reasonable suspicion to believe (1) a crime has been committed, is being committed, or is about to be committed and (2) the person asked to provide identification is involved as a participant or as a witness. If there is no reasonable suspicion, a person does not have to provide identification—but courts often find reasonable suspicion as a matter of course.

These statutes are sometimes called stop-and-identify laws or stop and ID laws, and the violation of the statute may be a criminal offense or crime known as “failure to ID.” Stop and ID laws vary from state to state in the states that have such laws. For example, in some states failure to ID cannot be the basis for an arrest (there must be an underlying criminal offense) and in some states the obligation to provide identification only applies to a person who has been arrested.

And in some states it is a criminal offense for a person to provide a false or fictitious name, residence address, or date of birth if the person has been detained by police on the basis of reasonable suspicion or is believed to be a witness to a criminal offense.

The United States Supreme Court has held that the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution may allow suspects to refuse to give their name if they have a reasonable belief their name could be incriminating. Kolender v. Lawson, 461 U.S. 352 (1983).

In South Carolina, there is no specific 'stop and identify' statute that requires individuals to provide their identification to police officers under all circumstances. However, under South Carolina law, during a lawful stop or detention, if an officer has reasonable suspicion that a person is involved in criminal activity, the person may be required to identify themselves. Failure to do so could potentially lead to charges such as interfering with a police officer. Additionally, providing false information to law enforcement is a crime under South Carolina Code Ann. § 16-17-725, which makes it illegal to knowingly and willfully give false information to a law enforcement officer who is conducting an investigation of a crime or is in the process of booking a person. This includes giving a false name, address, or date of birth. It's important to note that the Fifth Amendment provides the right against self-incrimination, which means individuals may refuse to provide their name if they reasonably believe it could be used to incriminate them, in line with the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Kolender v. Lawson.